Black Hole Rising
by A.K. Haddock
Summary: 5 misfits brought together by an enigmatic and dangerous outcast. Dreadnought, powerful meta-human and cynical vigilante, brings together the Titans with the goal of making a team with 1 central ideal: minimize collateral damage. This leads to the Titans butting heads with both the law and the Justice League as they deal with villains their way. Slight AU. OC mentor for the titans.
1. The Beast

There was something in his territory. Not a beast, not a man, the _thing_ intruding on his land smelled of oil and metal. He stalked the unnatural thing, observing it, trying to determine what it was, trying to determine why it was there, trying to determine how best to tear it to shreds.

The Beast was not fond of unwanted creatures in _his_ territory.

It walked slowly, but confidently through his land, as if it had no idea where it was. It was tall and broad, though not nearly as much as him, and had a strange, black, layered covering over its body, leaving only its head exposed, the rest of it hidden in the folds. Its head was easily the most befuddling part of it, however, a shining orange dome with a strange silvery design on the front of it, seemingly in the shape of a grinning skull.

He continued to stalk it, even as the shadows grew larger, even when he knew that he should have attacked by now. Something about it set his teeth on edge. Not the scent, not the strange look, but a _feeling_ that came off the figure in waves, leaving him confused and nervous. It was a feeling he was used to, but usually he was the one giving it off, not receiving it.

He knew, deep in his gut, that the figure was an apex predator. And that gave him pause. He hadn't had a proper challenge in many moons, but now... He was worried he might not be strong enough to destroy this strange _thing._

* * *

Walking through the dense jungle, Dreadnought was, for perhaps the hundredth time, mentally praising his suit's climate control. The sweltering air around him was abuzz with insects, and so saturated with moisture that even he was feeling resistance as he strode through it. He was sure that he would be miserable were it not for his suit, despite the fact that the sun had long since dipped below the artificial horizon created by the dense jungle canopy, casting his surroundings in a dim light.

As the shadows lengthened around him, Dreadnought knew that the creature he had come here for would soon make itself known. It was stalking closer and closer, flitting between trees and crawling through the undergrowth.

 _Not soon enough_ , he thought to himself, a smirk growing on his face. _Lets speed things up, shall we?_

Growing tired of the beasts slow advance, Dreadnought stopped abruptly, standing completely still. Behind him, he heard the beast huff, before it began to approach at a far less cautious pace, quickly breaking into a sprint. When the creature was within 20 feet of him, it leapt, vicious claws and wicked teeth all bared to rip and tear.

His only response was to sink swiftly into the ground.

* * *

The beast was confused and tense, on edge. He had pounced, ready to rid his territory of the unnatural two-legged metal creature that had been moving through it for so many hours, but just before he could sink his claws and teeth into it, the thing had sunk into the ground as if it were water. The beast sat on his haunches, leaning forward on his hands, claws still fully extended and ready for anything.

He sniffed the air, casting his vision about the small clearing he found himself in, seeing nothing, and smelling only a lingering trace of the unnatural thing. Just then, his ears pricked up, swiveling back, trained for the slightest noise out of place. Breathing sounded behind him, slow and even. Instantly, he whirled around, claws slashing, a roar tearing from his throat almost involuntarily. But as his claws connected with the strange figure in front of him, his motion was instantly arrested, leaving the beast stunned.

Nothing had ever withstood his claws.

As if burned, he jumped back, cowering in front of the strange figure, bowing his head and letting out a low whine, keeping his eyes downcast.

* * *

Dreadnought took this opportunity to observe the creature in front of him. He had done his research, but was still mildly surprised. He had heard the stories, of course, of the predator that stalked this jungle, killing poachers and those who infringed on its territory, but he hadn't given much credence to the claims that it was ten feet tall and _green._ But here it was, in front of him, all green fur and muscles and teeth and claws.

If he weren't who he was, Dreadnought would be downright terrified of the creature.

Letting out a sigh and reaching into on of the many pockets on his jacket, he rooted around for a moment before pulling out a small photograph. It was a picture of a family, and though faded and worn, torn in several places, and with tattered edges, one could clearly see the subjects of the picture. A family; two adults and one child, standing in a jungle much like the one the two figures stood in now.

Stepping forward, Dreadnought fell to one knee, holding out the picture toward the cowering beast in front of him before quietly speaking, his voice thick and gravelly from disuse.

"Garfield Mark Logan. I've been looking for you."

The change was as immediate as it was drastic. The creature's eyes darted up to the figure before him, its words resonating around in his mind, gears that had long sat unused slowly grinding to motion. His eyes zeroed in on the picture in Dreadnought's hand, growing wide as soon as he saw it. Reaching forward slowly, he grasped the photo, his claws retracting has he did so.

Dreadnought simply watched, letting the beast take the photo from his hand.

"Marie. Mark. Your parents, if you can remember."

His words were no more than a whisper, but once again set off a chain reaction in the beast's mind, more and more memories starting to whirl through its head.

 _Mama. Papa. The monkey. The boat. The chief. The boat. The men who killed each other. **The boat.**_

His simple mind unable to bear the anguish of the memories flooding through him, the beast shot up to his full height, throwing his head back and letting out a howl that shook the trees around them. He continued to cry his pain to the heavens, but a change slowly started to overtake him. The sound of muscles tearing, joints popping, bones breaking, cartilage dissolving filled the air, audible even over the sound of his slowly dwindling howl.

Dreadnought winced behind his helmet. That sounded _entirely_ unpleasant to experience.

After no more than a few moments, the 'beast' fell to his knees, no longer a hulking monster, but a sobbing teenage boy. Dreadnought shifted from foot to foot, looking down uncomfortably at the emotional boy, before sighing and stepping forward to gather the green teen in a tight hug. Patting his back, he whispered what he hoped were comforting words, entirely out of his element.

"It'll uh, it'll be alright. Calm down. Calm down. Sun's gettin' real low, sun's goin' down. Calm down."

Soon, the green boy stopped crying, only occasionally sniffling. At this point, Dreadnought set him down, kneeling beside him. Reaching up and tapping a button on the side of his helmet, several sections that covered his mouth slid away, leaving him with his mouth exposed but keeping the rest of his face concealed behind the opaque orange material. Reaching a hand out, he rested it on the teen's shoulder, slowly asking in a low voice,

"Can you speak?"

The teen looked up, pushing his shaggy mane out of his face, trying to get a better look at the figure in front of him. Now free of the simple mind of his bestial form, he was able to piece more together. The 'covering' was a jacket, as far as he could tell; strange and large, with a wide circular collar nearly a foot across, with a latch in the front that, for the time being, was unbuckled. The coat extended down, stopping just short of the top of the heavy, metal plated boots on his feet. Around waist height, the jacket was layered, giving the appearance of two separate coverings worn simultaneously, one under the other.

His 'head' was in fact a helmet, a sinister smiling skull scratched into the surface of the orange face, an unbroken expanse of glass that stretched from his chin to the crown of his head. Solid looking metal made up the rest of the helmet, sprinkled with a few buttons and blinking lights. His arms were covered in light grey plates of metal, and as Garfield looked down at the hand resting on his shoulder, he saw that it was similarly armored, with the addition of several nasty looking protrusions on the knuckles.

His gaze darted back to the man in front of him, flitting between his now exposed mouth and the eyes of the carved skull. Clearing his throat, he nodded, letting out in a strained and raspy voice,

"I-I think s-so."

A grin split the man's mouth, revealing a row of pearly white teeth. He clapped Garfield on the shoulder, standing quickly to his full height, now towering over the young boy.

"Good. We've got a lot to discuss."

* * *

 **A/N:** Thank you for reading, please review. More to come. Raven should be the next to encounter Dreadnought, perhaps with his new green changeling friend in tow.

Some notes about the slight AU-ness of this story; the team isn't together currently, and Dreadnought is an OC character who decides to bring them together to form a team. Dreadnought's powers will be explained as organically as possible, I'm not going to just have him say "oh yeah I can do x and y." That's lazy writing.


	2. The Demoness

She was being followed.

Not that she ever truly had a private moment to herself; the Justice League always had someone watching her, waiting for her to slip up and give them the excuse they needed to put her on ice.

No, this was different. She'd spotted them early in the day, on the crowded sidewalk a dozen yards behind her. At first, she wasn't concerned, thinking that they just happened to be walking the same way as her. But, by the third time she'd spotted him, she was well and truly worried. It wasn't that she couldn't take care of herself; she knew she was powerful enough to take down half the Justice League if she really put her mind to it, but the _thing_ following her was unlike anything she'd ever encountered, and certainly not a member of the League.

When she'd seen them for the second time, she had frowned, thinking that maybe he wasn't just a simple pedestrian. Hoping to determine their intentions, she reached out with her empathy, focusing her mind on her unwanted shadow. When she'd finally brushed against their mind, she found it to be surprisingly primitive; simple and clean, lacking the usual baggage of human minds. And, as far as she could tell from her cursory investigation of their emotions, the man had no malice or even mischief about their aura. Instead, they were calm, self assured. Purposeful.

 _Not a demon then. Far to clean, far too simple. It's probably nothing, just a coincidence. S_ he thought to herself once she had retreated back to her own mind, throwing up the shields that eased the strain of being in the crowded city once more, receiving only vague whispers of emotion from the people around her.

When she saw him for the third time, she knew, despite what her empathy had told her, that there was no way that they weren't following her. Her few errands that day had taken her hither to across the city, and she had no doubt that the man had been shadowing her all day. It was unsettling, and she could glean nothing from their mind. She had tried to probe deeper when she saw him again, but what she had encountered had rattled her badly; coming from a woman who was half demon, that was no small thing.

Despite her first assumption, their mind was not as calm and self assured as she had first assumed. It was like the mind of an animal, simple and basic, mixed with that of an eager child. A maelstrom of feelings swirled around their head, confusing her to no end as she tried to decipher them. It was all too much, and she felt a headache coming on as the barrage of primitive and powerful emotions battered her delicate psyche.

Eagerness. Curiosity. Confusion. Curiosity. Determination. Curiosity. A sudden primal urge to take flight, to soar far above the crowded city streets. Curio-

 _Wait, what?_ She stopped, pulling away from their mind, rubbing her temples as she stood still in the middle of the sidewalk, earning her more than a few grumbles from hurried pedestrians.

 _That can't be right._ She looked back, daring to openly stare at the man who was the source of her confusion.

He was coming towards her, striding slowly up the sidewalk. He was roughly her height, dressed in a simple black suit, a briefcase held in his left hand. His hair was a dark brown, cropped close to his skull, and he had a youthful, angular face. He walked leisurely but confidently up the sidewalk, moving fluidly from one step to the next, a feline grace and agility evident in his movements. As she took the sight of him in, he stared back, a grin slowly stretching across his face. For a moment, it was a wolf grin, all teeth and and a wicked glint in his eyes, and Raven couldn't help but feel a swell of apprehension as he unabashedly approached her.

 _He's a predator. There's no way an actual civilian moves like that._ _Shit shit shit. There's too many people around, someone might get hurt._

Her thoughts were flying at a mile a minute, trying to figure out what best to do, and he was rapidly closing the distance between them. She was running out of time. She whirled, eyes casting about frantically for any lifeline, and spotted a small, dark alley just ten feet away from her. She darted into it, phasing into the wall as she reached the shadowy respite.

She heard him approaching, and tried to force down the growing panic that was make itself known at the back of her throat. She was powerful, she could do this. If he wanted a fight, she'd give it to him.

He stepped in to the dark alley, the broad grin on his face still present, but now it was more jovial than predatory. She was confused at his expression, not expecting him to look so... _happy,_ while clearly pursuing her. Before she could reconcile his change in demeanor, he called out in rough, gravelly voice, clearly worn from disuse.

"Raaaaven. Come out come out, where ever you aaare. _Raaaaaven._ "

In an instant, she knew that despite his jovial expression, this man was clearly not here for a friendly chat. Keeping her empathic barriers up to avoid his strange, disconcerting mind, she grasped a nearby dumpster with her powers, flinging it towards him with as much force as she cared to muster, as she levitated out of the wall, hood up and eyes flaring from it's depths. Her hands were held out in front of her, cloaked in dark, pulsing energy.

As she threw the dumpster, the man vanished, and Raven's eyes widened almost imperceptibly in shock. Quickly, she lowered her empathic barriers, casting her mind out in an attempt to locate him. But even as her mind scoured the alley for his mental signature, her eyes noticed a small green butterfly fluttering in the air in front of her face. She squinted, wracking her mind to remember if green butterflies presented in nature, when suddenly it expanded rapidly, accompanied by the sound of flesh splitting and knitting it's self back together, bones cracking and breaking, and in an instant, there was a grinning green man standing in her face.

Shocked, Raven took a step back, unsure of how to respond. He matched it, and raised her one, stepping entirely too close for comfort, dipping his head down toward her neck and breathing deeply through his nose. A low purr rumbled out of his throat, and a blush rose to Raven's face for a moment before she regained the use of her mental faculties, shoving him away roughly with her powers. Raising one arm toward him in what she hoped was a threatening manner, Raven schooled her features and willed the blush his shockingly intimate and strange behavior had brought to her cheeks.

"What do you want?" she ground out, her raspy tenor voice steady and monotone.

He grinned, seemingly unbothered by her hostile words.

"Alpha wants to see you. Wants to..." he frowned, brow furrowed in thought as he looked at her, evidently trying to wrestle with something in his own mind.

Raven stood expectantly for a few moments, his silence quickly making her grow impatient. Casting her eyes up and down his form, she took in his bizarre appearance, trying to figure out just what the _hell_ he was. He was taller than her, maybe around six foot, with a lithe but well muscled form. Dressed in some sort of strange armor, covering much of his body in dark metal plates, it was underlain with a dark red body suit that hugged his form tightly. It was cut off at his neck, just below his knees, and just above his elbows, leaving his head, lower arms, and feet bare. Much of his exposed skin was covered in thick green hair, looking more like fur than the body hair usually found on humans, and a darker shade of green than his skin.

He had a shaggy head of hair - also green, Raven noted - roughly cut short to keep it out of his eyes and off his ears. Speaking of, his ears were oddly elfin, long and pointed, with small tufts of dark green fur protruding from them, much like a maine coon's. His jaw was covered in more dark green fur, giving him astonishingly thick mutton chops, contrasting with his young, angular face. Although his mouth was closed, Raven could see four fangs jutting out from behind his lips, wickedly sharp, and over twice as large as a human's canines would be naturally. His eyes, screwed up in concentration, were a brilliant verdant green, and while he was certainly animalistic, Raven found his overall appearance to be quite... pleasing to her, surprisingly.

Just as she was concluding her inspection of the man in front of her, she saw something whipping about behind him, and leaning to the side was quite shocked to find a long green tail, covered in more dark green fur, sprouting from just above his butt. Her eyes widened a fraction, but internally, she was not very shocked at the discovery, considering the rest of his appearance and its obvious animal influences. Having now thoroughly inspected his physical appearance, she was still waiting for him to finish her sentence, and impatience set in.

Deciding that she would have better luck gleaning information from his thoughts, she prodded at his mind once again, not at all surprised to find that this was the same man who had been following her all day. He was clearly a shape changer, and it wasn't surprising that he had been able to alter his appearance to blend in with the crowd. She delved past the surface of his mind, trying to discern what he was wrestling with.

To her surprise, he was simply sifting through his mental dictionary, trying to find the right word to convey the message he had been sent to deliver. He seemed to sense her mind within his, and gave up wrestling with the wording, and simply poured out a veritable flood of primal emotions and simple images. Raven gasped, overcome with the raw surge of feeling he was pouring into her. She staggered back, leaning against the grimy wall behind her.

 _An image of a grinning silver skull. Respect, submission. A well lit room, filled with various equipment; dummies, weight machines, cardio machines, an obstacle course. Joy, wonder, eagerness. A long rectangular table, six chairs, two filled, four of them empty. Hope, excitement, and anxious, nervous energy. Her, laying in grass, looking up, her faced flushed and her body bare, reaching up toward hi-  
_

The flood cut off, and she returned to the world, now glaring intensely at the grinning man in front of her. Raising one eyebrow, she pushed herself off the wall, standing tall and continuing to stare down the green changeling. He hadn't meant to show her that, she realized; she had just been too deeply engrossed in the flood of information for him to stop the flow of his emotions. But still, now that she had seen it, he wasn't backing down, looking down at her with a feral glint in his eyes.

Realizing he was waiting for her to speak, she cleared her throat, her brow still furrowed. He merely grinned back at her, hands tucked in his armpits, rocking back and forth on the heels of his feet. Lowering her brow further still, she glared at him, crossing her arms in front of her chest. His only saving grace, though he didn't know it, was that Raven was too flustered (and perhaps a little flattered) by his clear lust for her to lash out for the time being.

"Well. This 'alpha,' of yours. I will hear him out, though I am not sure what he could possibly have to offer me."

She didn't think it was possible, but his smile widened even further, his face positively glowing with excitement. He began to bounce back and forth between the balls of his feet, lowering himself into a half crouch, legs coiled and ready to spring. Voice brimming with exuberance, he quietly ground his rusty vocal cords into use, looking up at her now as he spoke;

"Now?"

Raven merely nodded, gesturing vaguely for him to lead the way, unsure of how they were going to proceed. He merely crouched even further, before shifting quickly into a cat and darting between her legs. Though the sound of his change made her stomach gurgle disapprovingly, she stared down at him, nonplussed. Her confusion quickly turned to shock, however, as his form swiftly swelled into that of an enormous green wolf, lifting Raven clear off the ground. She let out a hiss, but did not make to get off him, merely darting her hands out to grasp the thick fur around his shoulders, clinging on tightly.

He took off into the city streets, and Raven could instantly feel dozens of eyes on her. Huffing quietly, she buried her face in his fur as he ran, and she could swear she heard him let out what sounded like a barking laugh, but he kept running, thundering his way through the city streets.

* * *

Half an hour after taking off out of the alley, the green wolf below Raven began to slow his pace for the first time, and she felt that he was going at a sedated enough pace for her to pull her head out of his fur. Casting her gaze around her, she was surprised to find that not only had they left the city proper behind, but they were well into the farmland that surrounded the metropolis.

Raven snorted under her breath, wondering what the Justice League's observer would report to their superiors.

 _Yes sir, a green dire wolf sir. I swear, it took off out of the alley like a bat out of hell, sir. I couldn't keep up, sir. Yes sir, she was on its back sir.  
_

Hearing her snort, the wolf turned it's head back to look up at Raven, a curious look on his face. Raven ignored him, continuing to cast her eyes about her surroundings. All around her, acres and acres of tall golden stalks stretched out as far as she could see, the city nothing more than a vague dot in the distance. Raven frowned, sure that a normal wolf would not have been able to carry them so far so quickly. Feeling him slow to a trot below her, she brought her gaze forward, where she saw a small, dilapidated shack a few yards in front of them. The wolf let out a low yip, shaking his broad shoulders and nodding his head toward the shack.

Raising an eyebrow, Raven slid off the back of the wolf, using her powers to land gently on the dusty ground.

"This is where your alpha is? An abandoned shack in the middle of a wheat field?"

Barking out a laugh as he changed, the green shifter stood, stretching out his arms and popping his neck, his face still split in a wide, mischievous grin. Trotting toward the door, he leaned forward, putting his eye up to the keyhole and whispering a short phrase too quietly for Raven to hear. Standing straight again, he grasped the door handle, and yanked it open quickly, gesturing for Raven to enter with one hand, grinning like the Cheshire cat.

 _That can't be natural. Although, perhaps his face isn't entirely human to achieve such a..._

Raven's train of thought came to an abrupt halt as she saw the inside of the small shack. A rickety elevator sat, all rusted metal, rotting wood, and flimsy cables. Staring in mild horror at the contraption, Raven turned her head to address the changeling, her eyes never leaving the death trap in front of her.

"Are you joking?"

He merely grinned, loping forward, apelike, into the elevator, coming to a stop in it's basket. Raven frowned, crossed her arms in front of her chest, and hunched her shoulder, stepping into the elevator with no small amount of trepidation practically oozing off of her. Bouncing up down beside her, the green teen's vigorous motion hardly seemed to affect the rickety structure around them, to Raven's surprise. He reached forward, sliding a key into a small recessed hole, before twisting it and quickly darting up his other hand to tap a button that Raven saw was labeled with a faded white G.

The elevator lurched around them, slowly beginning its descent, and Raven relaxed as she felt the surprisingly steady swiftness of the unstable looking contraption. Looking over at her cable car companion, Raven paled as she saw the mischievous shine in his eyes, and before she could say anything, his hand shot up and depressed a button that was labeled, to Raven's horror, with two faded white arrows, both pointed down. The elevator around them shuddered, picking up speed as it shot down the shaft at a staggering rate.

Raven staggered, before reaching out with her powers to steady herself, her mouth set in a grim line and her brow furrowed intensely at the whooping green man beside her. He looked at her, joy shining clearly on his face, before he saw the furious set of her jaw and brow, and his smile faded slightly. He fidgeted as she continued to glare at her, before reaching over to depress a button above the one he had just pressed, labeled with just one downward arrow. The elevator immediately slowed to it's previous pace.

The green teen shrugged, scratching the back of his neck sheepishly as he averted his gaze from the irate empath.

"Sorry," he mumbled in his quiet, rough voice. "I like the fast."

She blew out a sharp sigh, still frowning, arms once again crossed.

"Well I don't," she ground out. "So don't do that again."

He nodded, grin now absent, and he turned back to face the front of the elevator once again, looking anywhere but at the fuming young woman beside him. Soon, however, to both passenger's relief, the elevator began to slow, quickly coming to a smooth halt. Before them was a gray metal door, bisected along the diagonal, with bright yellow and black hazard markers lining the crack, marking the potential limb crushing danger of the heavy fixture. The green passenger stepped forward, speaking with a gravelly, rough, but confident voice toward the door before them.

"And so the strength of the Pack is the Wolf, and so the strength of the Wolf is the Pack. Predator, titan. Raven, guest."

A monotone female voice came from the door, tinny and echoing in the staggeringly tall elevator shaft.

"Authorization recognized. Welcome."

The door slid open, revealing a dark hallway in front of them, another door, similar to the one that they had just bypassed, stood at the other end of the hallway, barring their way. The green man-beast bounded forward on all fours, reaching the middle of the hallway in 2 great 'steps,' bright fluorescent lights flashing on in the ceiling as he crossed the threshold of the door. He stopped nearly dead center along the hallway, still leaning some of his weight on his front hands, tail thrashing about wildly, and turned to Raven, ushering her forward with one hand.

"Come. Lights, scan. Gas."

Raven cocked her head at him, not quite liking the mention of gas, but stepped into the brightly lit hallway nonetheless. It was simple, but clean, with an off white painting on the simple, utilitarian walls. Raven would bet money on them being metal, but she couldn't know for sure. Her musings were interrupted when a brilliant grid of bright orange lasers quickly descended from the wall. Unable to react in time, they swept over Raven before she could think of how to stop them. However, all she felt was a slight tingle where they lit up her skin, and in an instant they had reached the floor and blinked out of sight.

The female voice from before chimed in once again, this time far less tinny than before, and Raven was able to tell now that the crisp, synthesized voice had a slight Scottish accent.

"Scan complete. Scans positively confirm the identities of Titan Predator and Guest Raven."

There was a pause, and the changl- Predator, as Raven now knew, just grinned wider as he looked up at the ceiling expectantly. The voice started up again, now suffused with muted warmth, a poorly concealed smile shining through the monotony.

"Welcome home, Predator. I am glad to see you back so soon. Dreadnought is waiting for you in the war room."

Predator grin practically split his face in half, and Raven had to double the strength of her empathic shields to avoid being overcome by the sheer tsunami of happiness and affection pouring off the changeling.

"Glad being home, Blair."

Raven could have sworn that the voice sighed before responding to him, in a somewhat exasperated, but still affectionate tone.

"It's 'Glad to be home,' Gar."

Predator shrugged, his grin not lessening even a fraction.

"You knew what Gar meant."

Raven stood, entirely perplexed by the interaction going on before her, her comfort zone almost a distant memory from her current situation. To her thanks, and mild panic, the voice seemed to recognize what she was feeling, and spoke again, this time addressing her.

"Miss Raven, my apologies. I assume Predator did not notify you of my existence?"

Raven merely shook her head, still floundering, completely out of her element. It seemed as though she'd been forced on the back foot since Predator had first confronted her, constantly surprised and confused by the things happening around her.

 _Probably on purpose; to keep me off balance, the bastard._

"No, I am afraid he neglected to tell me much of anything. He doesn't seem particularly fond of speaking."

The voice responded with a quiet but obviously affectionate chuckle.

"Yes, well, he's not as familiar with the English language as you or I. He's learning, but he still vastly prefers communicating through body language and odd little noises. I am the Binary Lossless Autonomous Interface Repository, an artificial intelligence created to monitor and operate this facility. You may call me Blair. I'm sure that Predator will be happy to escort you to the war room whenever you are ready. Welcome to the Bastion, Miss Raven."

* * *

True to Blair's word, Predator lead her through the sprawling underground facility, alternating between staring at her and pretending he hadn't been. She had lowered her hood for the first time since their encounter in the alley way, the illusion of civilian's clothes she had been maintaining long since dispelled. Apparently, her hair fascinated him, and she had already had to bat his hand away more than once during their quiet journey to the war room. After roughly 15 minutes of walking through dull grey hallways, passing dozens of closed doors along the way, they finally stopped in front of one of them, despite it looking just like all the others. There were no marking in the halls they had walked so far, and none on the doors other than the black and yellow hazard markings she'd seen on the entrance.

Predator stepped forward, waiting expectantly in front of the door, frowning when it failed to open. He opened his mouth, about to speak, when it slid open, revealing the dimly lit room within. Snapping his mouth shut, he went through, leaving Raven's sight immediately as he stepped to the left inside the dark room. Raven followed more hesitantly, quickly taking in as much as she could about the room around her.

The wall across from the door, and by extension Raven herself, was entirely covered by a massive screen, currently filled with all sorts of charts, data, and streaming news feeds, along with a three dimensional simulation of the globe, lit up occasionally by small, circular red pings. There was a long rectangular table, a chair at each end and two on each side, with room for more beside them. In the center of the table, there was another large screen, currently dark. There was a strange statue against one wall of the room, and Raven almost skipped her eyes over it, uninterested, before she saw it move.

Instantly, her eyes shot back to it, wide, pupils flaring to alleviate the dim light in the room. It wasn't a statue, she realized, but a person, dressed in a strange coat, and with a large orange helmet adorned with a carving of a grinning skull. She'd paid it no mind before, as she hadn't felt a presence in the room other than Predator, but looking back at it now, she realized with horror that the figure was completely absent from her empathic radar, even when she destroyed every barrier she had up and rushed her mind toward them. It was like they weren't even there. She sprang back, raising her hands as they became wreathed in black energy, her eyes flaring similarly.

It stood, raising it's hands in a placating gesture, not even reacting to her show of power. Similarly, Predator seemed entirely unfazed, merely staring at her in curiosity as he lounged on the chair he had sat on, feet propped up on the table in front of him.

"Raven. I see Predator had no issues finding you. I trust he has not bothered you overly much?"

The figure spoke calmly, unhurried, and blatantly ignoring the crackling energy suffusing Raven's aura. It made her want to smite him all that much more.

 _Smug bastard. No one ignores_ my _power._

"Why can't I feel your emotions?" Raven all but spat, unmoving.

He kept his hands raised, and tilted his head only minutely to the side, seemingly pondering her question for a moment. Slowly, he reached up his right hand and depressed an unseen button underneath his jaw, near his ear. Several sections of his helmet slid away, revealing his mouth, set in a grimace.

"I'm not a robot, if that's what you're thinking. You can't feel my emotions because you're on the wrong wave length, lets say. It's better that way, anyway. I wouldn't want to subject anyone to the scrambled pandemonium that is my mind, least of all an empath as powerful as you."

Raven's eyes dimmed, slightly, but still she kept her arms raised and her hands wreathed in energy. He let out a sigh, and Predator chuckled from his seat, picking at something in his teeth.

"Listen, I didn't go through the trouble of bringing you hear just to fight. Predator would have been more than capable of killing you himself, if he wanted, but he didn't. I just want to talk. If you don't like what I have to say, you can go back out the way you came, no one will stop you. I swear."

He paused, and Raven narrowed her eyes, unconvinced.

"If you want more reassurance, I'm sure Predator would be more than willing to open his mind to you and confirm what I'm saying."

Her eyes darted toward the aforementioned changeling, cringing internally at the smirk he was giving her. The man seemed to sense her unease, and he spoke sharply, he head snapping toward the seated changeling.

"What did you do?"

Predator flinched, his grin faltering and his eyes darting over to the larger man. He pulled his legs off the table before looking down into his lap, mumbling something under his breathe. Before he could snap at Predator again, Raven spoke up.

"I may have... overstayed my welcome in his mind, earlier, and saw something that probably would have been better off staying where it was."

Predator's head snapped up, his eyes boring twin holes in the side of Raven's head as he stared at her. The figure turned toward her, shoulders still tense, but his mouth taught with anger.

"I see. Something lecherous, no doubt."

Raven's face remained impassive, but a faint blush rose to her cheeks for a brief moment. She lowered her hands, letting the power drain from them. Her eyes darted toward the shifter for long enough to see the smirk returning to his face. Clearing her throat, she nodded curtly, not trusting her voice just now. A long sigh escaped from the man's mouth, and he sat back down into his chair, landing with an audible thud.

"I apologize for him. He spent a long time in the wild, _alone,_ and isn't used to concealing anything for decencies sake. It took me nearly 2 weeks to convince him to even wear clothes outside of his quarters. Not that that's any excuse. Now, down to business. If you could take a seat, we can get started."

Raven nodded, and sat down quickly in the chair closest to her. Too late, she realized that her chosen seat was directly across from the still smirking Predator. Ignoring him as best she could, she nodded at the man at the head of the table once she was settled comfortably in the seat.

"First things first; I know about the prophecy, and it doesn't bother me. I'm not like the League, I know that not everything is as black and white as they like to pretend."

Raven stiffened, unable to conceal her shock, but he forged on regardless.

"You can call me Dreadnought. I'm a meta-human, much like," he gestured lazily with one hand toward the green changeling across from her, "Predator here. I know that you're not _exactly_ a meta-human, but you're human enough, and none of my information on you seems to confirm Zatanna's suspicions. So, I'd like to make a proposition."

He leaned forward, steepling his armored fingers in front of him, pausing in his speech to turn his head more fully toward Raven, both to get a better look at her and project his voice more clearly. She was smaller than him, considerably, standing at maybe five and a half feet, with a petite build. She wore a cloak, deep blue in coloring, and a simple long-sleeve black leotard, with a belt of dark red gems slung on her waist, a similar red stone acting as the broach for her cloak. Her skin was an unnatural pale gray, and while she was young, she had noble, elegant features; with high cheekbones and a strong jaw. Her eyes were a deep, pure violet, a similar color to her short, straight hair. Dark tights covered her legs, leading into _ridiculous blue,_ ankle-high boots that looked like they'd be right at home on some sort of elf.

 _Why does every goddamn female super have to dress like a Vegas stripper. We'll have to work on that._

Pushing his errant thoughts aside, he cleared his throat before continuing with his prepared speech, hoping they were having the desired effect, but unable to get a read on the stone faced empath.

"I'm putting together a team, and I want you on it. I don't care what the league thinks of you, or who your father is, or what some damned prophecy says you are going to do. The Justice League and their affiliates are far too forgiving of criminals for my taste, preferring to keep their own hands clean as innocent blood is spilled on _their_ watch. My goal is to put an end to the collateral damage of the League's absurdly forgiving policies, through whatever means necessary. Additionally, I aim to help you overcome your 'destiny'."

Raven opened her mouth to protest, finally having recovered from the shock of his blatant admission of knowing of the prophecy that had plagued her since birth, but he raised a hand to cut her off. She shut her mouth with a snap, but her brow furrowed and she crossed her arms, a look on her face that has made lesser men quake in their boots and soil their trousers. Dreadnought ignored it.

"I fully understand that you think it's set in stone, but I've been known to move a few mountains in my time. We'll discuss it more later. For now, I don't expect an answer straight away. If you want, Predator can give you a tour of the facility, and show you what will be your quarters, should you choose to stay with us. If you're here in the morning, training will be at seven thirty, sharp, in the simulation room. If you don't show up, I'll assume it's a no."

He stood, pressed a button on the table in front of him, and the monitors on the wall behind Predator shut down, one bright fluorescent light flickering on in the ceiling, leaving the room dim. Gathering a few papers in front of him into a leather bound ledger, he made his way to the door, mouth once again concealed behind the shiny, opaque orange of his helmet. He paused beside her on his way out, nodding curtly.

"I do hope you'll consider it, Raven. You could do a world of good here."

With that he was gone, leaving Raven alone with a grinning green changeling, a million questions, and a growing headache. Across the table, Predator jumped to his feet, once again bouncing with anxious energy, his excitement bubbling over so greatly that Raven had to chant her mantra silently in her head not to be overcome by it.

"Wanna see?"

Raven let out a quiet sigh, rubbing her temples briefly, before she stood, squaring her shoulders and looking directly into the changelings verdant green eyes.

"Yes, I suppose it would be best to become familiar with this place, if I'm to stay."

His grin widened, and he bounded over the table and grabbed her hand, pulling her through the still opening door and out into the bright hallway.

* * *

 **A/N:** Sorry for the delay between chapters; I had originally intended for this to be roughly the same length as Garfield's, but when I got writing the words just kept on flowing, so I kept on chugging. If things seem vague, stay with me. Hopefully all will become clear by the end of the 5th chapter. If there are any glaring grammatical errors, please let me know and I'll fix them ASAP. I don't have a beta reader, so it's only getting proofread by one set of eyes, and I'm only human.

Thanks for reading, and please review! Next chapter should be here in a few days, so please follow if you want to know as soon as I've posted it.

Peace,

~Haddock


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